Ravine watched helplessly as Zhon and Aria disappeared, their forms swallowed by the yawning abyss below. Her breathing became erratic, her systems struggling to process the sudden loss. She collapsed backward onto the concrete, staring up at the pale morning sky as she pressed her palms against her face.

  With her free hand, she slammed the ground in frustration. "Damn it! I had one job—keep them alive and bring them to Irene."

  She rubbed her temples, trying to calm her racing processors. "This is a mess. And that idiot—why did he go after her?"

  Her gaze fell upon the sphere Zhon had thrown at her feet. His last words echoed in her memory: "I'll be back shortly." She picked up the device, turning it over in her hands as she tried to understand its function.

  He didn't even let me know how this works. What am I even supposed to do with this now?

  As she struggled to collect herself and rose to her feet, a new plan formed. "I need to contact Irene and tell her about the situation. She'll know what to do."

  She was about to activate her communications when the sphere suddenly began spinning at high speed. Startled, Ravine leaped back and unsheathed her spear-blade, ready for combat. A brilliant blue light erupted from the device, temporarily blinding her.

  When her vision cleared, she couldn't believe what she saw.

  Aria and Zhon lay on the ground a few feet away, alive and whole. Aria was still screaming as if she were falling through empty air until Zhon gently tapped her head.

  "You can stop screaming now. We're safe," he said with a reassuring smile.

  Aria opened her eyes slowly, terror still etched across her features. She looked around in bewilderment before the screaming stopped abruptly. Getting to her feet with visible embarrassment, she cleared her throat. "Yeah, I knew that. Of course. Thanks for... You know, saving me and stuff."

  Zhon's smile widened. "Come on, you're part of the team. Neither Ravine nor I would leave you behind." His expression became more serious. "Although I must say, I think it's safe to declare bridges a no-go from now on. I only have a few of those spheres, and I'd like them to be used for something other than you falling down, okay?"

  Aria crossed her arms with a huff.

  Ravine approached and helped Zhon to his feet, her eyes fixed on him with confusion. "By the way, that sphere you threw—what the hell was that? You acted like you knew it would work."

  Zhon took a step back nervously, scratching his head. "Well, actually, it was kind of a gamble, really."

  Ravine studied him intently. "A gamble? What do you mean by that?"

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Aria dusted herself off and joined the conversation, her eyes narrowing. "Yeah, why would that be a gamble?"

  Zhon gestured as he explained. "Well, as you noticed, this device is called a Sphere of Grace. It was created by Mother Phoenix so that if two or more androids of a squadron wished to join each other, they could teleport to the same location."

  Ravine glanced at Aria before fixing her gaze back on Zhon. "So if you knew you were going to teleport back here, how was that a gamble?"

  "The device only activates if two different squadron members touch the sphere before activation," Zhon continued. "In other words, when I threw you the sphere, the gamble was whether you would touch it. I wouldn't have had time to explain how it worked, so I simply said I would be back, hoping you'd touch it out of sheer curiosity."

  Realization dawned on Ravine. "So if I hadn't touched it, you two would have..."

  "Oh yeah, we would have been donezo," Zhon finished with surprising cheerfulness. "That fall was high enough that we wouldn't have survived for sure."

  Aria punched him in the stomach. "How can you say that so casually?"

  Zhon chuckled. "Hehehe, sorry. I was just stating what would have happened."

  Ravine shook her head. "In any case, I'm glad you two are still here."

  Zhon crossed his arms with a smirk. "Aww, did you miss us that much? I don't blame you."

  Ravine immediately regained her serious expression. "You ruined it. Never mind, I take it back." She turned around and started walking.

  "No take-backsies!" Zhon called after her.

  Aria stepped to the edge of the bridge and looked toward the horizon, her voice filled with enthusiasm. "Woah! Guys, look—we can see Moscow from here!"

  Zhon shielded his eyes from the sun. "Yeah, although it's pretty run down now."

  Ravine kept her distance. "If we're this close, then we'd better hurry. The longer we stay separated from the rest, the more we risk failure. Let's go."

  Aria nodded and jumped back onto the concrete bridge. "I just wish we weren't in such a hurry. I would love to explore."

  Zhon shrugged. "If you want, we could always ask the captain if we can spare some time for you."

  Aria's eyes lit up. "That would be great! What do you think, Rav?"

  Ravine continued walking without uttering a word.

  Aria pouted. "You're no fun, you know that?"

  As they progressed along the bridge, the city grew larger before them. Aria consulted a highway panel. "We're about eight kilometres away now." She studied the weathered sign. "It's crazy to think humans used to rely on direction panels to travel around. I mean, it works, but it's so inefficient. What if you were travelling at night?"

  Zhon looked at her thoughtfully. "Didn't they have those vehicles to help them move around? I'm pretty sure those helped a lot with navigation."

  Aria shrugged. "I guess so."

  Ravine had maintained her silence but stayed alert. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed as she drew her weapon. "Stay back," she said in a low voice.

  Aria's eyes filled with worry. "What's wrong?"

  Ravine gestured ahead. "Five hundred meters ahead—I detect other life forms. I can't identify them from here. They don't seem to have detected us yet."

  She moved forward cautiously, passing a semi-functional traffic light pole. "Stay back. I'll take care of it."

  Zhon smirked. "Oh, come on. Just because we aren't made for battle doesn't mean we're useless at it. Let me help."

  He materialized his chained blades. "Let's get this done quickly."

  As they approached, Ravine's eyes narrowed further. Zhon gave her a puzzled look. "W-what's wrong?"

  Ravine scanned the area frantically. "The life forms—I can't detect them anymore."

  Before they could react, the creatures burst from the traffic light pole they had just passed. Electrified, deformed wolves lunged forward with terrifying speed. One of them bit clean through Aria's chest, the shock sending her crashing to the ground instantly.

  "Aria!" both Ravine and Zhon screamed, rushing toward their fallen teammate as the growling pack of mutated wolves prepared for their next attack.